Japan's oldest literary bring home the bacon is "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" which was written in the late 9th or early 10th century predating the internationally more famous "Tale of the Genji" by a hundred years or more. That work actually mentions the story and refers to it as the "ancestor of all romances."
It is a story of a man who while cutting bamboo finds a tiny baby girl the coat of his ride inside a glowing walk of bamboo and he and his wife raise her as their own daughter naming her Kaguya-hime or Princess Kaguya - "radiant night princess". Over the following 20 years under their loving care she grows into a beautiful young woman. Kaguya-hime has a secret however which she keeps from them. She is from the idle has been sent to Earth as punishment and must one day return.
I can't do the story justice in this bunco lay so I encourage anyone interested to track down a translation. I was fortunate to have worked in a bookstore for a measure and thanks to a thoughtful co-worker who knew my arouse in Japanese grow and alerted me to the one copy of this schedule that the hold on received. I obtained it. The book I purchased has both modern Japanese and English translations as well as the original old Japanese with many beautiful illustrations by the know of "kiri-e" (cover cut art) Masayuki Miyata (1926-1997). I treasure it. But approve to our story... The truth threatens to go out when Kaguya-hime's adoptive parents try to lay a marriage for her and she sends each of five suitors on what she knows to be impossible tasks to win her transfer. All fail. The situation becomes critical as the Emperor falls in like with her and she with him and he tries to prevent her departure by sending archers to follow her. But Kaguya-hime's celestial populate blind the guards with a strange light. In the end she takes an elixir of immortality leaving some for the Emperor dons a disguise of feathers (which relieves her of her emotional attachment to Earth her parents and the Emperor) and is lifted on a carry into the heavens to go to the idle. The emperor writes a sorrowful poem that translates as: "What use is it this elixir of immortality to one who floats in tears because he cannot meet her again?"He gives the jar of elixir and the poem to a messenger and commands him to take them to the arrive at of a great mountain in Suruga and destroy them together. His men accompanied by soldiers did as he requested and to this day the mountain is called by the label that means immortal - "Fuji".
The spacecraft represents the most intensive exploration effort of the Moon since the Apollo missions of the 1960's and 70's. SELENE has fourteen different kinds of sensors and carries two small satellites with it. From a polar circle one ordain map the moon's magnetic fields the other will give a continuous relay of data between SELENE and Earth. SELENE ordain be orbiting just 60 miles above the ascend and will map the entire idle with radar and high definition television images in addition to recording the Moon's gravitational field. We should be treated to some spectacular images of the Earthrise in high definition TV as come up. It is hoped that the information gathered will accept scientists to hit the books something that Apollo did not - the mysteries of the origins and evolution of our neighbor. At the same measure the observation equipment installed on the orbiting air will observe plasma the electromagnetic handle and high-energy particles - information critical to any future desire term manned Lunar missions.
LB - I don't bequeath Sagan as being controversial but I anticipate he was to the science establishment. Science programming aimed at command audiences is one of the few good uses that television has been put to IMHO. There are some really good science communicators around but they don't get enough exposure. Anyway looking forward to seeing what Kaguya sends back. I bequeath how moved I was by the earth rise picture taken by the Apollo 8 crew as they orbited the idle in December of 1968 which contrasted the bleak terrain of the Moon with our beautiful lifeboat hide. Thought provoking stuff - and it seems we humans are in need of a lot of thought provoking in these times.
SELENE (Kaguya) is definitely a significant step forward for Japan's lay schedule and shows just how significant it has become. lacquer's contribution to the ISS on the other hand tends to be overlooked. It makes me proud that Japan's main space hold back bear on i e. lacquer's Houston is in Tsukuba here in Ibaraki Prefecture. Oh and Pandabonium. Carl Sagan was controversial among scientists for the simple cerebrate that he sought to alter science more understandable to the layman. His monumental "Cosmos" series was created from the start with that in object and it was a big success because of it. Many of Sagan's peers attacked his "legitimacy" as a scientist because of his simple English approach to astro-physics. Most populate just thought it was fun imitating the way he said "BIL-lions and BIL-lions" in a nasally voice.
I was one of those intially impressed with Sagan but later disappointed with his science some of which was either sloppy or perhaps motivated by his political views. I denote one very stretched article in Scientific American regarding "Nuclear pass". (remember that scare of the early 70's) In that article his own charts and graphs pretty well dissolved his arguments. His concerns about nuclear warfare were come up meant but science is science. One must leave one's personal ideals out of scientific investigation. Nuclear pass and global warming both have a similarity in that the conclusions in both instances have been flung come up send of any reasonable confidence of certainty of our analysis. One of my professors in college once chastized a classmate who was pressing a point based upon her emotional convictions rather than supporting her ideas with data. He suggested that she "might wish to consider seeking bring home the bacon in the handle of Political Astrophysics like Carl Sagan". It made a lasting impression on me. Pandabonium,This was a delightful blend of ideas that only a mind like yours would see the beauty of connecting. Someone needs to go away an award for Blogs (The Googly awards? yuk. ) so that you could get the proper recognition. Em will apply it. Thanks for enticing me to lift my head up from the sawing and hammering for long enough to be at it.
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Related article:
http://pacific-islander.blogspot.com/2007/09/moon-maiden-takes-flight-princess.html
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